Gas prices rise in Rochester in the past week

Average gasoline prices in Rochester have risen 1.5 cents a gallon in the past week, a weekly survey by GasBuddy shows.

Average prices were at $3.65 a gallon Monday, the survey of 319 gas outlets in Rochester shows.

This compares with the national average that has increased 2.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.23, GasBuddy research shows.

Including the change in gas prices in Rochester during the past week, prices Monday were unchanged compared with the same day a year ago, and are 6.8 cents a gallon higher than a month ago.

The national average has decreased 2.4 cents a gallon during the last month and stands 0.9 cents a gallon lower than this day a year ago.

"Motorists hitting the road for Christmas travel are cringing as gasoline prices have picked up with the best now behind us," GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said. "While prices will advance, I don't expect it to last too long—January and February generally also feature relatively low gasoline prices.”

The firm predicts Americans will be able to spend less on a yearly basis for gas in 2014 than they did this year, DeHaan added.

GasBuddy operates more than 250 websites tracking gas prices at more than 140,000 stations nationwide, including RochesterGasPrices.com.